Potato Latkes with Lox Sauce
Potato latkes are the breakfast treat you may not have known you needed. These battered, pan-fried potato shreds make a delicious side dish. They are traditionally served on Hanukkah, but they are also perfect for Thanksgiving morning or just about any holiday breakfast.
For that matter, you don’t even need a special occasion to serve these potato pancakes up hot and crispy with applesauce and/or the creamy lox sauce in my recipe. Try them with red pepper jelly, too!
Are potato latkes basically hash browns?
Potato latkes aren’t far off from hash browns (another of my favorite sides), but they have a few more ingredients. Hash browns usually are just cubed or grated potatoes fried in butter or oil with salt and pepper. Latkes, on the other hand, have a flour-and-egg batter. For my hash browns, I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes; for these latkes, I use Russet potatoes.
What is the best oil to use for frying latkes?
Traditional Jewish latke recipes often involve frying the potato latkes in schmaltz, or rendered poultry fat — which would be delicious — but I use vegetable oil for this recipe. I like to use an olive oil with a relatively high smoke point, but you also could use grapeseed, canola oil, or peanut oil.
Do you eat latkes with applesauce or sour cream?
Totally up to you! Potato latkes taste wonderful with either a fruit or sour cream based topping, depending on your preference for sweet or savory flavor. My recipe includes a cream cheese and sour cream sauce with lox.
Now, lox is a whole topic unto itself. This velvety-smooth brined salmon looks similar to smoked salmon, but it is saltier due to the brining process. The bits of lox add incredible flavor to the creamy sauce in this latkes recipe.
Are potato latkes gluten free?
These potato latkes are not made with breadcrumbs, but they do include flour. If you like, you can use an all-purpose gluten free flour.
Potato Latkes with Lox Sauce
Equipment
- box grater or food processor
- baking sheet with wire rack
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Potato Latkes
- 4 Russet potatoes peeled and grated
- 1 Vidalia or yellow onion grated
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 3 tablespoons green onions divided
- olive oil for frying
Ingredients for the Lox Sauce
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces sour cream
- 3 ounces lox (brined salmon) diced
- 1 tablespoon green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside.
- Using the large holes on a box grater, grate potatoes and onion. (Feel free to use a food processor if you prefer.) Place processed potatoes and onions in a large bowl of cold water and swirl them around to get as much starch off the potatoes as possible. Drain the potato mixture and place in a clean towel. Squeeze as much liquid out of the potato shreds as possible. With the excess moisture removed, transfer the potatoes to a medium bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, garlic, and green onions and stir to combine.
- Pour about 1/2 inch of oil into a large cast-iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, scoop potato mixture into a ball a little larger than a golf ball and place the batter into the hot oil. Flatten to make 2- to 3-inch-wide latkes. Repeat and add more latkes to the pan keeping them about 2 inches apart. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned. Flip the latkes with a spatula and cook on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes longer.
- Transfer cooked potato latkes to the wire rack on the baking sheet. If you like, you can pat off some of the oil with paper towels before putting the baking sheet in the 200 degree oven to warm. Repeat with the remaining latkes in batches. Transfer latkes to a paper towel-lined plate or platter and serve immediately with the creamy lox sauce.
- For the lox sauce, in a small bowl mix together cream cheese, sour cream, minced lox, and green onions. Mix well. Serve with the potato latkes. Leftovers can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator.
